Miami Beach Voters Will Decide Limits Of Alcohol Sales On Ocean Drive

Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, center, held an emergency press conference following Memorial Day Weekend violence during which he called for stricter liquor laws on Ocean Drive.

Holly Pretsky
/ WLRN

Miami Beach voters will decide in November if outdoor venues on Ocean Drive should stop selling alcohol at 2 a.m. instead of the current cutoff time of 5 a.m.

The Miami Beach City Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to add the question to the November 7 ballot. That vote came less than two weeks after Mayor Philip Levine proposed the idea following fatal shootings on one of the busiest holiday weekends of the year in South Beach.

Venues that are completely enclosed or that are located "entirely within hotels" would not be affected by the new rule, if voters approve it.

"Let’s not take this decision and then end up in the same place next year because it hasn’t solved the crime. Because there’s no evidence to show that these particular venues... are resulting in this crime," says Ceci Velasco, interim director of the business group Ocean Drive Association.

Ocean Drive business owners held a press conference Thursday to discuss alternatives to a proposal by Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine to ban the sale of alcohol in parts of South Beach after 2 a.m. and tighten noise regulations on the area.

The proposal followed the shooting deaths of two visitors to Miami Beach on one of the busiest weekends of the year. A parking dispute on South Beach Sunday left one man dead and the other was killed by police after a chase.

Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine wants changes in alcohol and noise regulations in the city after two people died over Memorial Day weekend in related shootings.

At a press conference Tuesday, the mayor proposed ending the sale of alcohol on Ocean Drive at 2 a.m. instead of 5 a.m. Levine unsuccessfully proposed a similar ordinance last summer. On Tuesday, he also suggested removing an exemption to a noise ordinance that lets clubs play loud music.